There are many options you have to market your business online. One that many people don’t think about much is creating an e-book. When done correctly, it allows you to establish credibility within your field. Plus, e-books are relatively inexpensive compared to other outlets and easy to distribute. Just any content won’t work for a book. Here are some of the best practices to consider before writing an e-book.
It can be tempting to just sit down and create a book on the fly. Before you start writing, there are some questions you should ask. For example, what is the objective you want with your book? You also want to ask about the main topics you want to cover as well as the value it should provide. If the e-book will be made available on your website, you may want to use keyword research to find the best search terms to direct users to the webpage.
The length of your e-book may vary based on the topic you select and how thorough you want to be. While many e-books can be anywhere from 2000 to 2500 words, you may need only 1500 words or less to convey your key message. It’s helpful to create an outline before writing the book, which can help ensure that important information is included while also keeping non-relevant items out.
You can add a variety of visual data to your e-book to break up larger blocks of text. These visuals can include headers and bullet points, screenshots, charts, or graphs. By adding these images, you are able to add emphasis to specific parts of your book. They can also allow you to provide additional explanations on items that may be difficult using just text.
Your e-book will likely be a downloadable PDF. However, your potential clients can use a variety of ways to read it. Some may want to print it out directly and read it on paper. Others will want to use their tablets. Whichever methods your customers want to use, you want to ensure it displays correctly with every option. This means making it not just mobile-friendly, but printer-friendly as well. In addition, you can test out your book in each format before publication.
An e-book can serve as a unique way to market yourself. By understanding how to write it as well as having an outline of what you want to write about, you can create content that potential clients will want to read.